OUT to lunch on Wednesday. Bit of a do. The Cafe Royal, as a matter of fact: you know, all those mirrors, big chandeliers, nice Peppercorn Steak, Panache of Veg, Pastry Tulip Filled With Seasonal Fruits, Coffee and Liqueurs, the business. It was, as that smooth Mr David Vine put it, 'The number one social event in the snooker calendar.' Petits Fours, too.

THE car park was crammed, the ticket kiosk besieged. Inside the hall they had run out of chairs and people were sitting on the floor or standing in corners. The heat was intense. Unlikely though it may seem, the focus of these hordes was a game involving rackets and shuttlecocks. Mansfield had gone badminton-crazy.

MIKE HALLETT, who only sneaked into the tournament by the back door, sent John Parrott out through the front yesterday when he ejected the former world champion from the Regal Masters in Motherwell, winning 5-3 to reach the last eight of the pounds 150,000 event.

YOU MIGHT think it's easy handling the affairs of a leading personality, just pick up the phone, mention a few figures, take your percentage, feet up, Bob's your uncle and it's a villa outside Marbella. But it's not. No. It can be hard work, demanding, debilitating. Take poor Alan Stockton, who looks after the well-known snooker player, Jimmy White. White, you will recall, recently lost

SINCE he slipped and fell in his hotel bathroom on the first Thursday night of the Embassy World Championship here, the defending champion Stephen Hendry has become owner of the most famous fractured forearm in Britain. No one expected the 25-year-old Scot to go home straight away, but few would have given much for his chances of a long-term stay.

THE SCARES about Stephen Hendry are increasing as he gets nearer to becoming only the second player after Steve Davis to win the World Championship three years in succession at the Crucible. Yesterday, for about four hours, it appeared he might have to withdraw from the tournament altogether.

WHEN James Wattana appears in his native Bangkok the locals can barely credit the evidence of their eyes. 'They cannot believe I walk in the street,' he says. The man is too famous to do something so mundane.

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Outgoing The Daily Show host, Jon Stewart, became the voice of Democrats who felt the President had failed to deliver on his ‘Yes We Can’ slogan. Tim Walker charts the ups and downs of their 10-year relationship on screen